By James Matthews
Haliburton OPP are looking for two people they believe were involved with a theft from a local store.
Two people allegedly made off with money from the till at Handmade Heaven in Haliburton on Aug. 9. The theft happened at about 2:30 p.m.
Police say it was one of those distraction thefts whereby one culprit distracts store staff as an accomplice grabs money or goods and they both skid out of the establishment.
At Handmade Heaven, one person lured the employee to the back of the store as distraction while the other culprit stole money from the cash register.
The two individuals were seen driving a black sedan. One individual is a woman with black hair. The other is a tall, heavy-set man with black curly hair, a beard, and tattoos.
The OPP is requesting that if anyone was in the area during the timeframe of the incident and saw anything suspicious or has any information, dash cam, or surveillance footage that may assist investigators, to please call Haliburton Highlands OPP at 1-888-310-1122.
Sam Milne, the store’s owner, took to social media and said a substantial amount of money was stolen.
“This is a really big hit to our handmade store as we have been open less than two weeks,” he wrote in his post on a Minden and Haliburton community Facebook page.
“As my staff followed the remaining female out of the store, her male partner was already waiting in the getaway car in the middle of Highland Street and took off east on Highland.”
It appears the alleged thieves have been busy.
Milne said police have put together a number of crimes the two culprits had committed over several days in the region.
“We would never let one negative incident overshadow the overwhelming support this community has shown our new store,” Milne wrote.
Talk about overwhelming support, a subsequent social media post from him details how an anonymous lady went to the store and dropped off an envelope with “a donation” after she heard about the theft.
“She wanted to remain anonymous,” Milne wrote. “This little town amazes me more daily.”
